Madonna lily

American  

noun

1. a lily, Lilium candidum, having clusters of pure white, bell-shaped flowers.

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Madonna lily British  

noun

1. Also called: Annunciation lily.  a perennial widely cultivated Mediterranean lily plant, Lilium candidum, with white trumpet-shaped flowers

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Etymology

Origin of Madonna lily

First recorded in 1875–80; from the flower's frequent appearance in paintings of the Virgin Mary because of its association with purity

Example Sentences

By all means begin your lily bed now, for the one season at which the Madonna lily resents removal the least is during the August resting time.

From The Garden, You, and I by Wright, Mabel Osgood

There is a large lily with a bunch of sweet-smelling flowers, not unlike the Madonna lily, but the flower is more notched and less of a funnel.

From The Incomparable 29th and the "River Clyde" by Davidson, George

Before that time, there was a lily known as the Easter lily, but whose right name is the lilium candidum or Madonna lily.

From Crayon and Character: Truth Made Clear Through Eye and Ear Or, Ten-Minute Talks with Colored Chalks by Griswold, B. J. (Bert Joseph)

So she sat quiet, as full of loving thoughts as a Madonna lily may be full of the dew of Heaven, yet mute as the angelic blossom itself.

From Innocent : her fancy and his fact by Corelli, Marie

For example, he records that the stamens of the Madonna lily have a different smell from the flower itself, and that the berries of the bay tree are almost, but not quite, round.

From The Old English Herbals by Rohde, Eleanour Sinclair